Christ the King C               R Lundquist                           11/25/07

Our season ends – as does my season w/ you as your Priest-in-Charge.  It has been grace for me to minister w/ you for nearly 3 years.  I have for you a charge:

• Remember you are wonderfully & uniquely created in the image of God Almighty.

• As a community of faith you are and are becoming the Body of Christ.  This is one of God’s riddles – being & becoming at the same time.  AND you must strive – it isn’t automatic…

• God doesn’t do small things.  There are no small prayers – when you pray you are calling upon the Creator of the Universe!  There is no small prayer.  And there are no small churches – each congregation is called to be & become the Body of Christ for the good of the world.  St Paul’s, you are demographically larger than most congregations in the US, Episcopal & other.  You are capable of great things with God, for God.

• St Paul’s is not poor.  You are financially capable of much more than you think you are.

• You have a lot of hard work to do.  This year has seen a breakdown in trust, a breakdown in communication, and a breakdown in leadership.  Each of you, all of you, must seriously focus on where you are & where you’re going, on who you are & whose you are.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov – The Turkey Prince.

            There was once a prince who took ill and decided he was a turkey.  Stripping off his clothes, he crouched naked under the royal table, refusing to eat anything but crumbs which had fallen to the ground.  The king was greatly upset.  Many doctors were called to the palace to examine the prince but none could offer a cure.

            On day a wise man came to the king and said, “Let me live in your home that I might befriend your son.  Be patient and I will make him well again.”  Immediately the sage approached the royal table, stripped off his clothes, and sat down naked next to the prince.

            “Who are you and what are you?” demanded the king’s son.  “I am your friend, a turkey like yourself,” the wise man replied.  “I thought you might be lonely and decided to come and live with your for a while.”

            Some weeks passed.  The “turkeys” grew accustomed to each other and soon became good friends.  They ate crumbs, drank from tin plates, and discussed the advantages of being domesticated birds rather than men.

            One night, when the royal family was having dinner, the wise man signaled to the king, whose servants brought tow silk robes and cautiously placed them under the table.  The sage quickly donned one of the robes, and before the king’s son could utter a word, proudly announced, “There are some dumb turkeys who are so insecure that they believe putting on a silk robe might endanger their identity.”  The prince thought for a moment, nodded his head, and began to clothe himself.

            Some days later the wise man once again signaled the king.  Broiled beef, baked potatoes, and fresh green vegetables were brought and placed on the ground near the sage.  Looking quite pleased with himself, the wise man bit into his food and exclaimed, “Absolutely delicious!  It’s good to be a turkey sophisticated enough to enjoy the food of men.”  The prince readily agreed and hungrily ate his fill.

            Eventually, the wise man called for some silverware and asked to be served from the king’s good china.  “After all,” he explained to the prince, “why shouldn’t intelligent turkeys want the best for themselves?”

            Finally, after many months, the sage came and sat at the table.  While eating and drinking with the royal family, he called down to the prince and said, “Come, join me.  The food is the same but the chairs make an appreciable difference.  Besides, we turkeys have a lot to offer.  Why should we restrict ourselves by remaining aloof?  Certainly our ideas can benefit the minds of men.”  The kings son came up and sat at the table.  It was only a matter of time until he was cured.

Isabel Andrews in Synthesis, Nov 25, 2007

This is a story not of prince, king & court – but of the sage.

            He became like the prince in order to lift him up.

                        Jesus became King to show us, lift us up.

His throne was a cross of death – yet even in last moments he invites another to His house.  Jesus invites us to be and become a royal priesthood. 

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, King Jesus the Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.